Review: Offseason

Director: Mickey Keating

Screenplay Mickey Keating

Year: 2022

The opening scene of “Offseason” presents the monologue of a woman who seems near her last day of life. Although we don't know the woman, we are drawn to her by the actress’ good performance, and her sense of urgency is clear. Apart from letting it be known that something is wrong, it is also clear that some supernatural force is involved.

Unfortunately, this monologue is one of the most exciting things in the film. For the rest of its 83-minute runtime, we follow Marie, the daughter of the woman in the opening scene, and her husband, George. Marie receives a call alerting her that her mother's grave was vandalized, and they both travel to the small island where it is located. 

Once they reach the island, they are told that the island will be closed for a few months during the winter and that the bridge, the only access road, will be inaccessible. Even so, the couple decides to go to the island, thinking that they could solve the problem before the bridge is lifted, and as fans of horror movies, we can already imagine this is the first in a chain of bad decisions.

The first images of the island highlight its natural beauty, which, together with the idea that it will soon be desolate, offers a disturbing atmosphere. The foggy aspect, the changing streets, the use of static on the radio, and even the presence of mannequins made me think that the director and screenwriter Mickey Keating (“Darling”) had taken inspiration from movies like “The Fog” or “Silent Hill” and that it would offer a horror of nightmares, but nothing is further from reality. Instead, “Offseason” simmers as a relatively tense movie, but one whose horror elements don't carry much weight.

The aesthetic aspect is where this film stands out best, taking advantage of the natural beauty of the place and adding a few touches to create a cold and dark look. However, the good work on the technical side is overshadowed by the weakness of a script that never manages to catch the viewer. The story unfolds too slowly for its own good, expositions happen at inopportune moments, and the characters' reaction to the situations they face is not at all realistic, drawing the viewer further and further away from its plot.

“Offseason” does a good job of presenting a place that is as visually pleasing as it is spooky and setting a tense, dark tone. However, the script is the complete opposite in terms of quality and fails to catch the viewer. Once its opening scene passes, you've already seen everything interesting that it offers and there is nothing left but a conglomeration of decisions and meaningless reactions that do not offer many rewards.